Merchandising container



NOV. 30, 1943. 1 01315 2,335,636

MERCHANDISING CONTAINER 'Fi-led Feb. 4, 1941 fieazye 1 Jodie PatentedNov. 30, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,335,636 MERGHANDISINGCONTAINER George L. Bodie, Chicago, Ill. Application February 4, 1941,Serial No. 377,382

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in merchandising containers.

The invention is more particularly concerned with the provision, incontainers of otherwise standard construction, of readily detachabletokens rigidly supported by the containers for the purpose ofstimulating the sales of any given product dispensed in such containers.

The present invention is applicable to containers for dispensing manydifierent varieties of products, but it is herein disclosed as apreferred example in connection with containers or cans containers arein the form of tin cans, coupons or tokens cannot conveniently besupported within the containers, and furthermore as such containers inmost instances do not include a paper wrapper, the tokens or couponscannot be offered as a printed portion of the wrappers.

This method of stimulating the sales of motor lubricating oils as wellas other liquid products has not come into extensive use, principallyfor the reason, it is believed, that the containers for such productsdid not ofier any convenient means for carrying or supporting coupons ortokens.

Furthermore, while prize winning coupons are sometimes offeredpurchasers of bulk sales products, such, for example, as gasoline,nevertheless the practice may prove highly profitable to themanufacturer or salesman, for the reason that the average automobiledriver purchases sufficient gasoline to interest him in purchasing suchgasoticular brand may be unknown to the prospec tive purchaser andthereby the manufacturer would profit to substantially the same extentas if the prize winning tokens were offered the purchaser.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide improvedmerchandising containers for stimulating the sale of products dispensedin such containers.

A further and more specific object of the invention is the provision ofreadily removable prize winning tokens rigidly supported by containersfor dispensing liquid products such as motor lubricating oils forstimulating the sale of such products.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a depressionin a wall of a metallic container for liquid products, and a readilyremovable metallic prize winning token rigidly secured in saiddepression, such token stimulating the sale of any given liquid productby removing the same upon sale of the product.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and objects of theinvention, reference will be had to the following detailed description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view of a container constructed in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the container illustrated inFig. l.

Figure 3 is a still further enlarged vertical sectional view in a planesubstantially as represented by the line 3--3 in Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the token of Figs. 1 to 3, same being removedfrom the container.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of container showing afurther adaptation of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawing by reference characters, andwherein like characters designate like parts in the different views, theletter C designates a container which, except as hereinafter described,is of standard construction and may be of varying capacities as, forexample, one quart, five quarts, etc.

The container C is a metallic can of the common construction now used inhandling and dispensing motor lubricating oils and comprises thecylindrical side s, bottom b and top if.

The instant invention comprises a modification of the usual canconstruction as above described for the attachment and shrouding of atoken designated as ID. The token is preferably v I if h 2,335,636

metallic and also preferably circular as illustrated. However, otherforms, such as rectangular, hexagonal, etc., are clearly within thescope of the invention.

In order to shroud or guard the relatively thin disc-like token againstcatching on an attendants clothes, pinching or cutting the hands orcausing possible other injury, the can or container C is provided with adepression ll formed by suitably stamping the metal of the containerinwardly, as is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein it will beseen that the depth of the depression is somewhat greater than thethickness of the token whereby the token is disposed below the level ofthe surrounding material of the container. formed in the top t of thecontainer, as illustrated, but may of course be formed in the bottom b,if desired.

The token Ill is originally formed as an imperforate disc and isspot-welded or soldered at its center to the container C within thedepression I I, as is indicated at l2, thus rigidly securing the tokento the container within the depression H.

In order that the rigidly secured token may be removed with relativeease it is circularly scored, as at [3, in circumscribing relation tothe rigid connection i2, whereby upon prying upwardly on the edge of thetoken it will break on the circular score line and thus be removed as adisc with a central aperture, indicated at a in Fig. 4. The aperture ain the tokens ID will provide for conveniently saving same as bystringing them on a 'rod or the like.

In order to facilitate the prying up of th token the depression I Imerges into the top t in a. plurality of tapered grooves !4 whereby theend of an instrument, such as a screw driver or the like, may readily beentered beneath the edge of the token at one or several spaced pointsfor breaking the token loose on the score line I3.

While the depression II is illustrated as being generally circular,still it may be rectangular, as indicated at [5 in Fig. 5, which alsoshows the adaptation of th invention to a container C of rectangularform in top plan.

With the rectangular form of depression IS, th corners thereof providefor the ready insertion of a token prying instrument.

The tokens Ill are suitably marked to indicate prize earning valuesaccording to the volumes of the various containers. Thus, a one quartcan or container is preferably provided with a token marked 1 merit,while a five quart can will be provided with a token marked 5 merits,and containers of other capacities will be provided with tokenscorrespondingly marked. The trademark or brand of the company may alsobe marked on the tokens as the party responsible for redemption of thetokens.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing dis closure that, inaccordance with this invention,

fluid containers are provided with readily removable prize winningtokens for the purpose of stimulating the sale of fluids, such as motorlubricating oils, in that a token may be removed from a container as bya station attendant upon The depression is most advantageously.

selling the contents thereof, and the value of such token will begreater in proportion to the greater capacity container sold. Thus theinterest of a station attendant in selling a brand of oil dispensed inthis manner will be greatly stimulated, to the extent that h will bemore inclined to try to convince a prospective oil purchaser that thatbrand is as good as some better advertised brands with which suchprospective purchaser may be familiar, whereby greater quantities ofsuch brand of oil will be sold at a corresponding greater profit notonly to the manufacturer but to the attendant or salesman as well.

The invention has been particularly disclosed as adapted for use withmotor oils, but it will obviously find advantageous application to metali containers for various products whether the products be directlydispensed from the containers when sold, or whether the containers withcontained products be sold as an entity to the purchasers.

While I have disclosed only certain specific embodiments of myinvention, nevertheless such are to be considered as illustrative andnot restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined in thesub-joined claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

1. A merchandising container including an end wall having a portionthereof deflected inwardly and providing a depression having a planebottom wall merging into the non-deflected portion of the end wallthrough a marginal inclined portion, a fiat circular token positioned insaid depression in full surface contact with the bottom Wall thereof, acircular score line in said token circumscribing a central restrictedarea thereof, and a rigid connection between said bottom wall and saidrestricted area.

2. A merchandising container according to claim 1, wherein said marginalinclined portion merges into prying-instrument receiving grooves spacedcircumferentially of said token and being defined by inclined bottomwalls merging into said non-deflected wall portion radially beyond saidinclined marginal portion relative to the center of said token.

3. A. merchandising container including an end wall having a fiatbottomed depression therein, a circular metallic token disposed in saiddepression in full surface contact with the bottom thereof, a circularscore line in said token concentric with the center thereof, a rigidconnection between said depression bottom and the token in an areawithin said score line, and a plurality of pry-instrument receivinggrooves in said end wall radially disposed and uniformlycircumferentially spaced with respect to the center of said token andeach having an inclined bottom wall merging into said depression bottomfor entrance of a pry-instrument beneath the token for breaking sameaway from its rigid connection around said score line with equal effortat any of said grooves.

GEO. L. BODIE.

